According to Larry Brooks, in the NY Post, since Mats Zuccarello, Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fasth are on the Rangers reserve list, they can play for the team following the end of their respective seasons in Europe.

Zuccarello would need to sign a contract but would not have to clear waivers to play for the Rangers.

Lindberg and Fasth signed contracts last spring.

In the KHL this season, Zuccarello has nine goals and 15 assists in 35 games.

Zuccarello signed a two-year deal in the KHL but the Rangers retained his contractual rights.

When ranking the Rangers top prospects, both Leslie Treff at Hockey’s Future and Corey Pronman at Puck Prospectus both ranked ranked Jesper Fasth in the top ten, but disagreed on which half of rankings he should reside.

Treff ranked Fasth fourth and wrote that he has excellent offensive skills and good speed. She adds that it isn’t impossible for Fast to make the Rangers next season.

Pronman ranks Fasth 8th and writes that he is “fast” and then when in top gear he is dangerous. In contrast to Treff, Pronman writes that Fasth’s offensive abilities aren’t that impressive and thinks he could be a “quality third line winger.”

Alex Nunn

Of the two, I am definitely more inclined to agree with Leslie Treff.

Fasth’s offensive upside is high, and his speed is certainly a big factor in that. The great thing about Jesper is that he is prepared to get his nose dirty too; he isn’t one dimensional on the offensive side of the puck and his play this season has shown that. He has been a solid contributor to the HV71 ranks this year with 15 points in 20 games, and it really is a shame that injury has derailed his head of steam somewhat. Personally I feel there is top-six potential there, but a possible third-line combination with Oscar Lindberg is something that intrigues me greatly too. I actually feel Lindberg has a better chance of cracking the Rangers roster next year given the varying dynamics that he offers on the ice, but Fasth should certainly be in John Tortorella’s thoughts come training camp. One plus point, despite his current shoulder injury, is that Fasth has shown no hangover from last year’s ankle surgery. That game-changing speed is still very much there, and I have no doubt that he will continue to build on a strong first half of the season upon his return to the line-up.

2:34PM: Fasth will not play in the tournament according to reports out of Sweden. He reportedly has a shoulder injury.

As Mattias Ek notes, “Sad for the NY Rangers. They had three players with the # TreKronor : Carl Hagelin, Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fasth. Now all injured.”

All three players are on a ten day break from their leagues.

10:25AM: In the Swedish Newspaper Expressen, they break down the roster, player by player, for Sweden’s Karjala Cup team.

One of those players is Rangers prospect Jesper Fasth who has seven goals and seven assists so far in 19 games.

They write that coach Pär Mårts can use Fasth is more ways than he can use other players. They write “Fasth is a sniper who probably can be really dangerous even at international level” and that the feeling is that Fasth has a high ceiling and “he will go far this year.”

He has two power play goals, is a plus seven and has 15 hits. Fasth averages over 19 minutes per game for HV71.